This invention pertains to textile machinery, and more particularly pertains to textile machinery which attaches fabric trim to cut pieces of fabric.
When mass-producing articles of clothing, it is conventional practice to make parts of a garment from flat pieces of fabric that are cut to the pattern desired and subsequently stitched together. For example, to make an arm for a piece of thermal underwear or other knit garment, a flat piece of fabric is cut into a shaped piece which, when sewed together, will form a sleeve covering the arm of a wearer from, e.g., slightly below the wrist up to the shoulder and the armpit. Articles of clothing such as long underwear can be trimmed at the wrists or ankles by attaching a piece of fabric trim to the cut piece. The piece of trim will encircle the wrist or ankle in the form of a cuff once the cut piece and the trim are properly sewn together.
It is possible to cut individual trim pieces and then to individually sew a piece of trim on each cut piece. This is labor-intensive and requires strict quality control, and is therefore expensive. It would be desirable to provide a machine which would trim each cut piece mechanically.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method and a machine which would permit a plurality of cut pieces to be trimmed with fabric trim in a continuous operation, thereby realizing economies of mass production.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and a machine which would minimize wasted fabric during trimming of the cut pieces.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and a machine which would be convenient in use and reliable in operation, yet relatively simple and inexpensive in construction and use.
In accordance with the invention, trim is attached to the cut pieces in a continuous process, providing a continuous supply of finished sub-assemblies. These may be quickly and efficiently formed into a garment component for application to a garment. An illustrative embodiment of the invention has a means for transporting cut pieces, such as a conveyor belt, on which the cut pieces are placed. The cut pieces are aligned in a row and overlap each other so that those regions of the cut pieces to which the trim is to be attached are closely spaced and are non-overlapping with adjacent cut pieces. A continuous band of trim is provided, for example from a spool, and is fed to a sewing location to which the cut pieces are successively transported. As the band meets the succession of cut pieces at the sewing location, the band is sewn thereto, so that a plurality of cut pieces are successively attached to the band one by one and joined together thereby.
The band and the cut pieces sewn thereto are then transported to another location in which adjacent cut pieces are separated from each other by cutting the intermediate band sections which join them while leaving each cut piece attached to a length of the band. The cut pieces are thus trimmed, making it unnecessary to handle each cut piece individually.
Advantageously, the invention places the band in tension prior to attaching it to the cut pieces, preventing the trim from bagging or bunching up. Further advantageously, adjacent pieces which have been sewn to the band are separated prior to cutting the intermediate band section which joins them. This allows minimization of the gap between adjacent cut pieces and reduction in trim waste, while still ensuring enough blade waste, while still ensuring enough blade clearance between adjacent cut pieces.
Further advantageously, the invention can cut trim edges on all the cut pieces along a predetermined straight line so that the band is sewn to the cut pieces in a uniform fashion. Further advantageously, the invention can stack finished cut pieces with lengths of trim attached thereto.